Who You Are
by lightpikachu08
Summary: Finally found the truth about his father, Raphael/Phantom R gave up on bringing him back home, thus giving up on himself. knowing Napoleons plans to take over Paris again, Raphael decides not to get involved anymore, and head back to Paris to turn himself in.
1. Caught?

**(I plan for this to be only 2 or 3 chapters. : ) I loved the game Rhythm Thief, and I hope they make a sequel)**

"Inspector Vergier! Inspector Vergier!" shouted Loic from the hall. He ran towards Inspector Vergier's office and skidded to a stop in the front of his door. Vergier, who was reading his reports on his messy table, looked up in annoyance as the constable huffed and puffed. Vergier growled and spoke, "what? What is it?"

Loic tried to calm himself, and it only took minutes to do so. He placed his hand on the edge of the door to hold himself up, "it's… its Phantom R." This caught Vergiers attention and quickly stood up from his chair, "spill it Loic, where is he? And where is he headed? I must know everything in order to be successful in capturing that rhythm thief," he walked around his desk and toward Loic, _he won't get away this time, _Vergier thought.

Loic studded a bit until he made out the words that he wanted to say. The serious inspector raised an eyebrow, and then his expression turned from serious to shocking, "take me," he said interrupting Loic, "I want to see this for myself."

Ssssssssssssssss

Loic led the inspector to a room, where only one cellar stands, at the police department. The only thing outside the cell is a chair and desk with a lamp placed near the top corner of the table. Standing in front of the door, he looked at Loic and he nodded. Vergier took a peek inside, and inside the open cell, is the notorious Phantom R, laying face down on the bed and his hat on the floor beside him.

Vergier glanced at Loic once more and he nodded again, "he sure fits the description and he looks exactly like him," the constable whispered. Vergier rubbed his cheek, looking back at the person behind bars, then cautiously walked in. he observed the person laying flat on his face. As he walked further down, he noticed that the cell door was open, _was this open the whole time? _He thought, stopping in front of it. He looked down at the boy for awhile, and then cleared his throat, "so… you are Phantom R?"

Phantom R opened his eyes, seeing nothing but the bed sheets and gave a firm, "mmm hmm," without even looking him, "and you must be inspector Vergier," he muffled. Vergier cleared his throat again, "how do I know you're the real Phantom?"

"Ask me anything that Phantom R would know," he sighed, still burying his face on the pillow.

"Hmm… alright. What…. What artifact did you steal during the time at the Louvre?"

"The Bracelet of Tiamat,"

"That was too easy. Okay, how many artifacts have you stolen, including the most recent?"

He told Vergier the exact number of artifacts he stole, almost naming them all afterwards, "I'd name them all, but that would be taking up too much time out of your busy day, inspector," he said finally. Vergier stood there frozen, "you stole that many?"

"Actually, only a few of them I stole, the rest were done by…" he paused for a moment, then sighed and stayed silent. Vergier waited for the answer, but because of his impatience he decided it was best to move on, "I'll be asking you that later," he looked around the room more and then back in the cellar. He noticed something and smirked, "usually the real Phantom R is accompanied by someone, or something. I don't see you with your little companion here," he said, thinking that he really was a fake, until the boy said something that made him think otherwise, "you mean Fondue? heh, I bet he's having it way better than I am. I couldn't let him come to a place like this, he doesn't do well being cooped up in a cage. I sent him away, so that he can be free."

He grumbled and came up with many questions for him, all were answered correctly. Vergier closed his eyes out of frustration. Before he came to his final conclusion, Vergier leans on the edge of the cell door and asks, "Let me see your face."

For a moment, Phantom R didn't move a bit until his hand reached for his hat. He sat up and Vergier blinked at him. He placed his hat on and as soon as he did, Vergier knew that their was no mistaking it, he really was the real Phantom R, "I don't believe it," he whispered to himself, "you're… you're."

He smiled then took off his hat before plopping down on the bed, face first, again, "Raphael… that's my real name," he muffled through the pillow, but loud enough for the inspector to hear. Vergier, who was shocked by all of this, formed a smile on his face. It looked like tears were starting to roll down his cheeks, _finally, finally! After all these years he's finally been caught! Behind bars and everything! _He wanted to dance around but being a professional and all, he remained calm and collected, "I see… Raphael." He thought about transporting him elsewhere, but still having a few questions in mind, Vergier decided to keep him in there until all his questions were answered, "well then, In the mean time, you'll stay in this cell until further notice."

Raphael just laid there, making no movement or even lifting up his head to look at the inspector. Vergier was expecting something to happen, but he let it pass. He closed the cell door and was about to walk out when a thought popped in his head. He stopped and slowly looked back at the boy, who still made no movement whatsoever. Vergier slowly walked backwards to the cell door and stood there for a moment, not keeping his eye off him. He opened the door slightly and waited for some reaction to it. Nothing. He closed it again. Nothing. Vergier narrowed his eyes and opened the door fully, then stepped back and waited.

Still nothing.

"You can leave it closed or open," said Raphael, "but I'm not going to leave here anytime soon." Vergier was quite puzzled, he wondered why exactly did he let himself get caught, _is this a trick?_ Vergier thought. To be on the safe side, he closed the cell door, but did not attempt to lock it. The confused inspector walked out and ordered Loic to stand guard.

Sssssssssssssssss

The next day, Charlie ran the streets of Paris until she got to the Paris police department, wearing her clothes that made her look like a boy. She turned corners and dodged constables until she got to the room where Raphael was being kept. She stopped at the door and looked in the cellar, breathing heavily. She saw the boy lying on the bed, with his arm rested above his eyes as the other hung down, "so… so it is true…" she said between breaths. Raphael recognized the voice and smiled weakly, "ahh, came to visit me?" he said. she pouted and walked right in.

Charlie walked around the cell with her arms crossed, "they told me the story. They didn't have to put any effort in capturing you; in fact, they didn't have to do anything at all. You just waltzed right in and decided not to leave."

Raphael said nothing. Charlie stopped at the cell door and nudged it a little, "still open," she said to herself. She swung it open to see if he'll jump on his feet and try to head out, but nothing happened. The same as her father, she was confused herself, "why did you turn yourself in?" she asked. Raphael just turned to his side, his back facing her, "are you going to answer me?" she said with a little bit of annoyance in her tone.

"Does it matter?" he replied, "I'm here aren't I? Behind bars, just like you and your father wanted. If I'd known a long time ago, I would have turned myself in way before I broke into the Louvre."

"Known what?"

Raphael didn't answer, "okay, I'll make you a deal," said Charlie, "you tell me what this whole turning yourself in, is all about, and I'll stop my father from questioning you, for today."

"It doesn't matter," he grumbled as his hand curled up into a fist, irritated by the fact that Charlie was trying to nose her way for some information, "stuff like this should be for the constables. Not some "private eye" wannabe."

Charlie's face turned red from his rude comment, "at least my future is bright enough for me. Someday I will be private eye and known to be the best of the best, and you'll just be stuck in a cage, alone, for the rest of your life!" she shouted then stomped towards the door.

As soon as she was about to head out, Charlie heard Raphael speak, in a low and quiet voice, almost like he was whispering. Having some pretty good hearing, she stopped to listen, "ive always been alone, even the day I existed… I wish I never existed."

She stood there for a moment, not making a sound. Her head started moving, turning to look at him behind those bars. there was just something about what he said, the tone of his voice, the way they came out, it made her feel deeply sad and worried for him to the point where she wanted to sit beside him, and talk. Because truly, this wasn't the boy she, her father, and the constables, chased around, _Phantom R… what's wrong?_


	2. Escape?

**(Ta Da! A new chapter! Thanks everyone who commented on the first chapter : 3**

**I guess their will be some RaphaelXCharlie, since Charlie is the only one he can communicate with now x3. but in the next chapter, something else will turn up. Well enjoy!)**

Vergier leaned back in his chair and placed his hands behind his head. He closed his eyes and sighed looking at the ceiling in his office. He had been hard at work, doing research on the incident and even with the "capture" of Phantom R, the case is still harder to crack, _perhaps, he was never involved with the missing casket at all, but it feels as if he's connected somehow, maybe, only a little,_ he thought that if they had the rhythm thief, all those answers, as to who was behind it and who was involved, would be solved. _The boy doesn't even know much about what was going on, _he thought again, having questioned him.

Vergier rubbed his head and decided to close up for now. He looked at the time and it was already Midnight. He quickly got up from his chair and packed some stuff in his brief case. He then swung his jacket around and hurried out; _I hope Charlotte is still waiting at the lobby_.

Ssssssssssssssssssssss

Flinching, twisting, and turning, Raphael gritted his teeth and clutched onto his pillow in his sleep. Suddenly, his eyes shot open and gasped as he quickly sat up from his bed. He looked around, and as he did so, Raphael started to calm down, _it's just a dream, _he thought as his shoulders dropped.

"Must have been some nightmare," he heard a voice say behind him. Raphael turned and saw Charlie standing outside the cage with her hands on her sides, "I got bored in the lobby, so I decided to come down here and check up on things," she said looking at the guard, snoring like he never snored before.

Raphael turned back around without saying a word. Charlie continued on, "even from a quick glance, it seems like you haven't been able to really sleep lately."

Raphael rubbed his eyes and laid down, "I've been sleeping just fine,"

"Yeah right," she said walking closer to the cell, "anyways, you seemed to be talking in your sleep. You kept saying "Papa…" Who is your Papa anyways?"

In that moment, it had occurred to Charlie that she'd never seen Phantom R with any of his parents around. And if they were around, the police department would have had a call from them by now, or would have answered their phone, them having called today, _aren't they worried about their son? _She thought. She then heard her fathers' voice, and with Phantom R making no reply, she thought it was best to head on back to the lobby.

Sssssssssssssssssss

"I don't want you associating with that boy," said Vergier as he drove in the night. It had only been a few minutes since they left the police department, having heard about what she did, Vergier wasn't very satisfied with that, "only the constables talk with the prisoners,"

"Oh come off it father, it's not like I haven't talked to him before," Charlie argued back.

"That was when he wasn't a prisoner,"

"… That's true," she mumbled as her eyes glanced outside the window, "but I didn't go down there to talk to him in the first place, I went to check on the guard. And I have to say, the departments hired some pretty dumb guards so far,"

"On to the point!" Vergier grumbled aloud and knowing that Charlotte had no right to say that. Before he could go on, she interrupted him, "and it just so happens that he woke up the same time I came in," she lied, "and… and don't you think he's acting a little… unusual?" Charlie said almost quietly. Although she tried to cover it, Vergier noticed her worry for him. He did hear what she said, and that made him ponder, _she does have a point, in fact, it's been unusual from the beginning. _It had only been two days and while Vergier had been questioning him, he never took any notice to the thief's behavior, in and even when they took him out of the cell. He thought about the questions he asked him, Phantom R didn't exactly answer most of them, it was always, "I don't know" or he wouldn't say anything at all. Vergier remembered looking at him, eye to eye. And he knew that it wasn't that he didn't know the answer, and he probably didn't, but he could see that the young lad seemed quite lost, or just seemed to be distancing himself.

Not another word came from the both of them as they drove home that night.

Ssssssssssssssssssss

The next day, Charlie walked out of school, carrying her favorite soccer ball. She stopped at a stoplight and waited with a crowd of people to cross the street. Being in a crowded spot, it was easy to overhear some conversations going around, one in particular, "I seriously can't believe it!" said the buff man with curly blonde hair to another man, "I thought that Phantom R was arrested, but nope, I definitely saw him today down by the bridge, as free as a bird."

_He saw him? No way! He couldn't have… did he really escape? _As soon as the walk sign appeared, Charlie dashed across the street, dodging the people walking by. The man with a white suite looked up at the buff guy and spoke back to him, "are you sure it was him?"

"He had the suit and everything, even the hat with a yellow stripe."

Sssssssssssssssss

She raced towards the department, thinking to herself, _he probably did, they don't exactly lock the cell, and the guards can be such idiots sometimes. _ She entered the department running past the lobby and down the hallway, leaving a trail of smoke behind her. She was now nearing the open room, and she ran faster and faster towards it, "you… you'd better be there… PHANTOM!" she yelled, stopping at the door. To her relief, Phantom R was still there, though, she practically caught him at a bad time. He almost completely jumped when Charlie yelled out his name, he turned around and screamed, Charlie screaming shortly afterwards. She had caught him taking a leak in the toilet in the cell, thankfully he was just about done, "WHAT? WHAT DO YOU WANT?" Raphael yelled back while trying to zip up his pants. Charlie blushed and tried covering her face with her hands, "I-I didn't mean, I-I'm really sorry! I thought y-you-"

"T-t-turn around!"

She turned around and shut her mouth.

Upon hearing the faucet, Charlie took a peek back, finding him washing his hands, "what was that all about?" said Raphael, equally embarrassed as she was. She replied back, "I… I thought you escaped… but I bet you did, and came right back. That's what happened wasn't it?"

"What? I haven't even set foot outside this cage; you can ask the guard, I've been here all day. I don't need to escape from here, theirs no reason for me too."

"Where is the guard?"

"He left so that I can have a little privacy," Raphael glared at her for a moment, then went back to washing his hands.

Charlie sighed, watching Raphael lay back down on the bed, rubbing his eyes and running a hand through his bangs. His hat was still on the floor, at the same spot the day he came in. she observed his behavior for a while, thinking about what he said, "Why?" Charlie said, "Why don't you want to escape?"

Raphael gave her a confused look. She crossed her arms and looked sternly at him, "it's just… honestly, it doesn't seem like you. You, not wanting to run away from here, I thought escaping would be the first thing you'd do if you were captured." Raphael smirked and looked away, "that would have been, huh?" he closed his eyes placing his arms behind his head. Charlie seemed to be more worried for him than ever, he still seemed more reluctant to tell her anything. Not knowing what to do now, she turned around and spoke softly, "… I know something's bugging you. And, I just wanted to say, if you want to talk…" she paused for a moment, knowing that she's probably acting like a weirdo in front of him, "you can always talk to me, I won't tell," she said quickly and almost in a whisper, she then bolted away from there feeling slightly embarrassed that she said that, and to her enemy too. Raphael heard what she said and whispered, "Thank you, Charlie."

~Meanwhile~

Finally getting a search warrant for the apartment, the constables barged in and quickly went to work. Vergier walked right in and observed his surroundings, "the artifacts were kept in this tiny place?" he said to himself as he walked further in. he looked around Raphaels room, seeing nothing but a bed, a desk, and some bookshelves, "I am not seeing any artifacts here, did we get the wrong address?" some of the constables turned to Vergier, just as confused as he was, "Phantom R probably kept them someplace else inspector," said one of them. Vergier placed a hand on his chin, closed his eyes and went in deep thought about this, _if Phantom R did place them in a different area, then where would it be? No… that wouldn't be like him at all, he would want to place them in an area where he could have frequent access to them. It would most likely be at his home… but where?_ He thought long and hard. Getting extremely frustrated now, he ordered the constables to search again, "leave no corner unturned!" he said. The constables walked around swiftly, bumping into each other in the small area. Suddenly, the highest ranking constable tripped and bumped onto the bookshelf. The books fell and dropped on a few of them, "don't be so clumsy!" Vergier grumbled until something caught his attention again.

Out of all the books on the shelf, only one hasn't fallen.


	3. Trapped?

**( *sniffles* finally its done! Im really sorry that this took so long to post. ;w; I had the hardest time writing this chapter. There may be a few errors on this chapter, so don't laugh if you see something misspelled or is out of place. But I would like to know what I did wrong please.**

**: 3**

**The next and final chapter should be easy for me to write, since the idea that I have is pretty solid, so it might be up early next month. Until then, enjoy!)**

The room was filled in complete darkness, the only light that can be seen, is the light towards the stairs. But even that light couldn't reach the endless darkness of the room that Vergier was now in. he went down and felt the side of the wall for any switch to turn on the lights. He grumbled as he did so unsuccessfully, "how am I suppose to see what's down here, if I can't see what's down here?" Vergier mumbled to himself. he made no attempt to go any further, and just stood where he was at, thinking about a way that Phantom R navigated through the dark room, _there's got to be a switch somewhere, _Vergier thought, "come on, think, think, think!" he whispered, shutting his eyes while snapping his fingers three times. Snapping his fingers were supposed to get him to think faster. But instead, it led him to the answer.

All the lights turned on like a wave sliding onto the beach. He blinked for a moment to adjust his eyes to the well lit room, full of rare artifacts. His mouth hung open. There were many of the artifacts scattered around the room, all without a scratch. Some hanging on the walls, and some on the stands, tables, and desks, "… marvelous," was all Vergier could say. Walking even further in, he paused as he felt something beneath his foot. He looked down and saw a diary, "what the… what's this?" he said as he bent down to pick it up.

Sssssssssssssssssssssss

Two weeks have passed since the discovery of the basement, Vergier tapped away on his laptop in his office. He had been reading the diary; unfortunately he had been doing it a couple pages a day, noting every single word in every single sentence. It is unknown to whom this diary belonged too, though Vergier suspected that it was Phantom R's. But then again, he knew that it couldn't have been, since some of the things written in the diary occurred way before he turned eighteen.

Finally, Vergier leaned back and closed his eyes. He thought about the questions he told Raphael, and this time, he thought about his behavior as well as his answers. He picked up the book again and instead of reading the pages, he merely skimmed it. Passing the page that he left off on, he started flipping the pages slowly realizing another thing in the book. He stopped at a single page full of words, though one word had caught his attention, "…. Son?" he whispered. There was mention of a wife in the diary, but never a 'son' until up to that point in the page.

He paused for some time, then lifted himself from his seat, grabbed his jacket and walked swiftly out of his office.

Sssssssssssssssssssssss

"See you next time Charlie," a young boy said running the opposite direction of her. She waved good bye and walked off, staring at the ground. Neither she nor her father had paid a visit to the young thief, who was still being held in the police department. She walked quietly thinking about him, _he must be pretty lonely in there, with no one but the guard to talk too, _she thought. She stopped at the stoplight and looked up at the sky; _maybe I'll go and check on him today._

Sssssssssssssssssssssss

She walked inside the department and towards the room when she saw Loic walking towards her, munching on biscuits and holding a tray. Charlie stopped, watching him munch happily on it, "oh my! Why good evening Charlie," he muffled. Charlie looked at the tray and Loic, seeing this, decided to explain, "the poor lad hasn't eaten for about a week… maybe two, but still we kept bringing him food, we're still encouraging him to eat at least something, but he refuses too,"

"I see," said Charlie, "um… do you mind if I take the rest of those biscuits then?"

"Hmm? Oh sure!" said Loic happily, handing over a small plate with three biscuits. She thanked him and walked away.

As she walked towards the room, she thought about what Loic had said. With that, she became slightly afraid of what she might find when she got there, though she hoped not to see an extremely skinny Phantom R. she stopped at the open doorway, gulped down hard, and slowly peeked inside. There he was, lying on the bed with an arm over his head while the other hand rested on his stomach, the hat, still at the same place. As for his appearance, he looked the same, but if Loics word is true, Charlie knew that she'd have to take a closer look. But she sighed in relief that her friend did look emaciated, _it probably hasn't been that long then, without food, _she thought. She growled and looked at him angierly, then walked in and stetted the plate on the table, making a light 'thunk' sound.

Without looking, Raphael spoke, "I told you, I'm not hungry," he said, almost in a whisper, though to Charlie, he sounded kind of weak, "what is this about you not eating?" she said as she put a hand on her waist.

"Charlie?"

"Well?" she waited impatiently.

"No reason, I'm just not hungry."

Charlie wasn't satisfied with the answer, glancing at the table full of plates with untouched foods, a couple were on the floor under it, _I can understand why he wouldn't want to eat something that's been placed on the floor, who knows what kind of germs are crawling there. _She reached for a biscuit and tore off a big piece, big enough to fit in anyone's mouth, "I don't exactly believe you, there has to be a reason why you aren't eating… do… do they have bad food?"

"It's alright, I guess," Raphael replied, forgetting what the food tasted like. True that he didn't feel hungry at all, but it was only because of his depression that he forgot all about his hunger.

Charlie tilted her head and walked towards the door to the open cell, "whatever the reason, you still need to eat something, here," she reached out the piece of bread to him, hoping that he'd take it. Raphael glanced at it for a second, and then turned away, "I don't need it."

"You're going to starve yourself and die here, is that what you want?" she said getting a little bit irritated, she is trying hard to be patient. He made no reply and as patient as she was, the last bit of it had already burned off, "don't make me shove this in there," Charlie growled. As soon as she said that, Raphael turned his head and gave her a serious look, "you wouldn't," he said in a low tone. "You don't think I would?" Charlie started to get herself ready, as did Raphael, "well I don't know, it would be very unprofessional of a private eye,"

"According to you, I'm just a 'wannabe'" said Charlie as she launched herself at him. He quickly dodged but as soon as he jumped off the bed and landed on the floor, he started to feel a little strange, _why do I feel so tired and dizzy all of the sudden? My pace isn't as quick anymore, what's happening to me? _He thought as he tried to balance himself. Keeping an eye on Charlie, Raphael dodged every move she made. Though he was lucky at first, he started slowing down as he dodged more. He also realized, that he wasn't running around dodging Charlies launches in twirls and fancy footsteps, instead, he was moving around like twig being blown by the wind.

She finally end up tackling and pinning him to the ground, "is it just me or was that sort of easy," she said struggling to hold him down. Raphael wasn't too happy with the situation, but he was even more unsatisfied with himself. all of those questions went unanswered as his focus shifted to Charlie, who was trying to force the bread into his mouth, his hand holding on to her wrist pushing it back, "you're so skinny that I can feel your bones," she said, amazed by how much strength he still has.

Raphael glared at her, "good, that must mean I'm half way to heaven now,"

"You… you need to get yourself out of here," she said a little quietly so that nobody outside can hear, if there was anyone there, "believe it or not, my father and I would much rather have a happier Phantom R than an extremely depressed one,"

"That's not me anymore, and I'm not depressed,"

"Admit it, you are. Something changed you, you're not the same person you use to be,"

He gave her a weak smirk, "you don't know a thing about me, so how do you know that I haven't been the same person?"

"Oh shut it and just eat your biscuit!" Charlie said, still trying to put it in his mouth. Her arms are starting to become tired that she knew it was only a matter of time till she gave in. Raphael sensed this and kicked her off him, hearing her back make a thud noise as it slammed onto the bars. he gasped realizing what he had done, he never meant to hurt her like that, only wanting to get as far away from her as possible, "Charlie! Are you okay?" he said raising himself up. He saw Charlie trying to force herself up, using the bars as support. Raphael slowly inched closer, little by little, extremely worried about her and feeling the deep pain of guilt inside him, "Charlie, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean-" he got cut off as Charlie almost landed a punch to his face. Raphael was fast enough to dodge it, almost stumbling backwards but regained his balanced, _great, now I made her really angry. _

Charlie swiftly turned around and rammed him making his back hit the bars. He grunted at the slight pain, "hurts, doesn't it?" Charlie said with little victory in her tone. Able to push her away from him again, he swiftly moved to a much spacier area and just in time too. Charlie began charging after him again. He dodged, not wanting to get slammed up against the edges of the cell. He soon found himself back in the beginning, except without the bread in her hands, he dodged and dodged, amazed at her sudden speed, "Charlie, wait! I said I'm sorry," he spoke, trying to calm her down. He moved back moving out of her way and in an instant; he suddenly slipped and fell backwards.

His hat that he stepped on flew forwards as he landed on the cold floor. Instead of pinning him down, Charlie stood there, waiting for him to get up, "humph, what's wrong? Tired already?" she teased. The hat gently flew down and landed next to Charlies feet. She looked at it, her fingers wrapped tightly, "you're right," she said bending down to pick up the hat, "you're not Phantom R. the Phantom is braver and less cowardly, unlike you, you're just weak Raphael. I bet that's why your papa isn't around; he doesn't want to be seen by a person who lacks courage."

Raphael sat up slowly, regaining his strength, "… it's all my fault then… isn't it. It's my entire fault," Charlie's anger suddenly disappeared as he said that, she didn't mean to say what she said, it was only so that she could irritate him. He continued, "I never understood why he left me way back then. Three years after and Jean Franscois told me the reason why, I had a hard time believing it, but… he really was doing it. Working with Napoleon, helping him try to take over France, Jean Franscois is right about that, about everything."

A moment of silence fell between the two, the new information that Charlie just received made her think for a minute until all the pieces came together, _so… Does that mean Raphaels father is the one behind the stolen casket?! I'm still not very sure, it still could be anyone, but at least I've got the lead that my father's been looking for, _She thought. She shifted her attention back to her friend, thinking about all that he's been through, "so the reason you stole the artifacts-"

"So that I can find him," he interrupted, "I really wish I hadn't."

Charlie sighed as her shoulders relaxed but looking worriedly at him. It was as innocent as it gets, just a kid looking for his father. But she knew that a crime was a crime, no matter how innocent it was, he still had to pay for his dues, though she thought that he being in this horrid place for two weeks and without eating a thing was enough for a crime like that. She came to a realization, then spoke up to him, "you've heard those stuff from other people, but you didn't hear it from him directly. If anything, shouldn't you still be trying to find him? You need to ask him yourself, just because you saw him with Napoleon doesn't mean what you think, it might have been for a different reason,"

"What's the use?"

"What do you mean? You didn't come this far just to give up now. He may not seem like it… but he needs you,"

"If he needed me, he wouldn't have left me," Raphael said, raising his voice. He thought about the past to the time that his father left him. Instead of making him feel sad, he felt mad that he did so. Charlie shook her head, "maybe he didn't know better back then, he had no way to go about his plan, but I bet one look at you would bring him back to his senses. That Napoleon is only using him and you know it too,"

Raphael sighed, "You don't get it,"

"I don't get it? You mean YOU don't get it!" she said pointing her finger at him. He looked up with a confused expression on his face, "get it in your head! Right now, his only hope is you! What hope does he have if his only son won't save him?"

Raphael was a bit shocked and it showed. He just stared at her making no reply at all as Charlie turned around facing the cell door. She expected him to say something but also expected him to say nothing at all, "fine… you can stay here, starve, and feel sorry for the rest of your life. You're obviously too busy thinking about yourself right now instead of others, but promise me you'll tell my father about this. We need to stop Napoleon before all of France is doomed," she said before making an exit.

She walked down the hallway, leaving the stunned thief alone again. Although Charlie was average at detecting someone's presence, she had no idea that Vergier was hiding behind the door. He had heard everything that was going on and couldn't help but have pity on Raphael. He looked inside and frowned at the poor boy, _maybe. You have given up too soon, Raphael._


	4. Where Am I?

**( well, looks like I finished it early! But I guess I have some explaining to do. Well, this is suppose to be the last chapter, but it got too long and over the word count limit, like the last chapter. I didn't want this chapter to go over 2,000 words.**

**So what I did, I kept writing it and then cut it in half just to make it shorter. That's why there is an extra chapter. **

**About shipping. Actually, I ship both CharlieXRaphael and MarieXRaphael ^^" so in the end of the games, whoever he ends up with is fine with me… unless they decided to add another girl… then things get kinda complicated.**

**Also, if you haven't gotten all of the Phantom notes in the game, which is to unlock one of the bonus chapters, if you don't want to spoil yourself, don't read on. **

**Just a little warning there, : ) enjoy!)**

Early the next day, Vergier walked towards the police department, sipping his hot coffee hoping it would wake him up. It was just as he expected as he walked in. The early mornings of the day had to be the most relaxing, the lobby was semi quiet and as he goes further down the hall, not much tapping can be heard. The halls aren't crowded and flying with papers. The phones are silent and so are some alarms. He smiled wishing that it was like this everyday, from morning till dusk. He stopped just in front of the room of Phantom R's, and frowned. He had finally figured out who the diary belonged too, having done his research the whole night.

Yesterday, after Charlie's harsh treatment, he went back to Raphael's apartment and did a thorough search. During the search, Vergier noticed something sticking out from inside the pillow case of Raphael's bed. Curious, he pulled the small edge of it sticking out. It was a photo with three people standing in front of a fountain, a little boy, and two adults. The photo was Vergiers biggest find yesterday, he knew that it just had to confirm it, but with it, also brought many questions and mysteries.

Vergier cautiously walked in and looked at the boy, again, laying on his bed. Vergier cleared his throat hoping to get his attention. He frowned even more and settled his coffee at the table, still cluttered with filled trays, "…. So you're Isaacs's son." Raphael moved his head, just a little to the side, this indicating that the inspector has his attention now, "it wasn't because of any DNA results,"

"… You know him?" Raphael asked. Vergier nodded his head, "we were childhood friends… and rivals," he smirked as he remembered him and Isaac when they were kids, "we competed with each other a lot, even in college. He was always… better than me at everything,"

Raphael sat up and looked at Vergier. He continued, "Heh, he would always be the winner. Isaac is a hard one to beat, and he never took his studies seriously. I was always there nagging him about it. But, sometime during college, I never saw him much," Vergier sipped his coffee, bringing him out of the past and to the present. Raphael was staring down at his lap, leaning against the bars that were close to his bed. Vergier thought that maybe Raphael wanted some alone time, after all, he only came in to tell him some little tidbits about his father. He turned around and was just about to exit when he heard Raphael ask him a question, "what would he do?"

"Pardon?" Vergier said as he turned his head slightly.

"If it were the other way around, what would my father do?"

Vergier thought for a moment, "to be honest… I don't really know. He would have done any number of things. But winding up in here, would have been the last thing on his list."

Raphael made no reply.

Sssssssssssssssssssssss

Later that day, as he stared at the ceiling, lying at the same spot, Raphael thought about what Vergier had said to him early in the morning. In addition to that, he also thought about what Charlie had said. Suddenly, his vision started to get blurry and his eyelids began to get heavy. He didn't wonder what was going on with himself, but he knew that he was simply fading away. His breathing was slow and steady, and soon, he finds himself being engulfed by darkness.

In the dark, he saw faces of two people in front of him. They were looking at him rather disappointingly. He recognized the faces and he reached out his hand to one of them, "Charlie," he said and she spoke, "you were his only hope," Her voice echoed. He stopped and withdrew his hand slightly, he looked over at Vergier, "you've given up," he said.

Bewildered, he looked at the two as more people appeared and formed a circle around him, "I… I-I…" he said as he heard their whispers. Madam Paula, Duchess Elizabeth, her butler, and many others had surrounded him looking sadly at him. He turned, "Duchess," Raphael said,

"We believed in you," she whispered.

The voices grew louder and louder, he backed away and held his head, shutting his eyes tightly, "I… I just don't know," Raphael struggled to say.

Suddenly, he noticed a familiar presence just a few feet behind him. He turned around slowly, his eyes wide open. The rest started to disappear, except for that person he was now facing, "…father," he whispered slightly. Isaac turned his head, looking away from him, and then, he began to fade.

Raphael felt himself move forward, trying to catch him before he disappeared, but for some reason, it looked as if he wasn't going anywhere at all, "wait! Please!" he yelled.

Soon, Isaac left completely, and Raphael was left alone in the dark. He came to a stop, letting a tear drop roll down his cheek. He fell on his knees and cried his heart out.

Ssssssssssssssssssssss

"It's good to hear you laugh. Sometimes I think you take things too seriously," said the Duchess Elizabeth. The Duchess, Marie, and Alfred were at the Conservatoire for Marie's violin examination.

"Mom…" Marie replied, the Duchess just smiled and gave her a bit of advice, "you have to enjoy yourself, Marie. Skill is important, of course. But it's only the beginning. Your audience can tell when you're just going through the motions and when you're playing from the heart. Never forget that." Elizabeth took a step forward towards Marie, "play like you were playing for him,"

"Raphael…" Marie said looking down at her violin. Suddenly the judge called Maries number, which made her jump a little feeling nervous and such, "Go on now. You don't want to keep them waiting," said Elizabeth as she fixed Maries hair just a tad bit. Marie took a deep breath and nodded, "I'll play my heart out."

Once she got on the stage she took another deep breath and smiled at the judges, "you may now begin," said one of them, "Thank you," replied Marie then positioned the violin on her shoulder and got her bow ready. She closed her eyes and whispered, "This is for you, Raphael. I hope you hear it… wherever you are."

Ssssssssssssssssssssssssss

Raphael could feel himself slipping away more and more. He thought that it was better this way, nobody would be there to bother him, or be worried about him, he'd be out of everyone's way, _do I really want that? _He thought. He decided not to think at all about it and just let himself fade away like everyone else. Then, he heard a faint melody coming out of nowhere, _what is that? It sounds… beautiful, _he thought as he listened intently.

A small light appeared out of the darkness and as the song got louder and louder, the light grew bigger and bigger.

Raphael blinked his eyes open after shielding it and soon found himself at the Conservatoire, and there on the stage, he saw Marie, playing that lovely music. He stared at her and whispered her name, then closed his eyes so that he can listen to her play. The song flowed softly and gracefully, then after that, it became a little jumpy yet still keeping its softness. Eventually, it grew stronger and flexible. Raphael hadn't smiled like he did in a long while and how couldn't he?

The music slowed to a stop and as Raphael opened his eyes again, he realized that he was spinning lightly, and then posed at the end, _was I dancing? _He thought in confusion.

He looked up at the stage again and smiled as he saw Marie. He was really happy to see her again after so long.

Having been accepted, Marie walked off the stage and ran towards Raphael, "Marie!" he said reaching out to hug her. As she came so close to him, happy as he was his smile slowly disappeared as she went through him. He stood there frozen, wondering what just happened.

"You played from your heart," Raphael heard the Duchess say. He turned around just in time to hear Marie speak quietly, "Raphael… I've finally taken my first step toward realizing my dream." She sighed sadly as her eyes stared at the ground. Soon, the darkness was about to cave in on him again but this time, he ignored it, having his full attention on Marie. She looked up and out of one of the big windows, "I can't help wondering, where you are. Truth is Raphael… I miss you."

Having a heavy heart, Raphael tried to reach out to her even when he felt himself being pushed back into the darkness, "Marie," he said, watching her disappear in the distance, "I'm… I'm here."

Ssssssssssssssssssssssss

Marie jumped a little and she quickly turned around, her eyes searching for someone.

"Madame, what's the matter?" Alfred said. Marie turned to the butler who stood by her side worrying about her, "Alfred… I thought I heard Raphael… but."

"Oh? What did he say?" he said, looking around also. Marie replied, "He said, 'I'm here'."


	5. Who Am I?

**(this is chapter 5)**

Left alone again, with nothing but his sorrow, however, the song he just heard played in his head again, and again, and again. He thought about Marie and how badly she missed him. Everything started flashing in his mind, thinking about those days he spent in that cell. Charlie's and Vergiers words echoed. He heard others too, the Duchess, Alfred, his friends, the fake Napoleon, Jean François, and Maries, those voices he heard a long time ago before he gave himself up.

He closed his eyes and instead of shutting them out, he listened until all he heard was himself.

He heard his own goals, his own plans, and even his promises. He heard his own thoughts inside that cell of his and held a hand over his heart and talked quietly to himself, "when I was fifteen, I was smaller than other kids my age, and I guess I still am. I'm small and weak, unlike him. I'm nothing like my father."

Raphael walked forward, not thinking about where he was going or even how he'd get there, he just decided to keep on moving, "but that's okay. I don't need to have superman powers to be strong, my heart already is," from that moment, he began running. A little slow at first, but his pace quickened, "I guess I stopped because I was too afraid to keep going, to find more about the truth… but, I'm not afraid anymore," he said as he looked on ahead. His eyes were no longer showing sadness and pain, but courage and strength.

A small light like before emerged, growing bigger as he kept running towards it. He gritted his teeth and ran faster than before, "I'll protect those important people that I hold dear to my heart, we are what make each other stronger. I'm counting on them, and they're counting on me."

He got closer and closer, the rays of light reaching him like a hand reaching out to grab a hold of. "Do you know who I am?" he said loudly as the light engulfed him, "I am-"

Ssssssssssssssssssss

His eyes shot open, sitting straight up, his breathing was heavy and tiny drops of sweat trickled down his head. He looked around the room and noticed that he was back at the same cell at the same place. Raphael blinked, and then felt his head, face, and upper body. He looked at the bars and touched one, his fingers didn't go through, "I'm… I'm alright," he said through a chuckle and a smile.

He turned around and saw a guard sleeping there with an untouched croissant on his belly and lots more inside a little box on the table, "he must have fallen asleep just when he was about to eat it," Raphael said quietly. He looked at the clock in there, telling him that it's noon.

Sssssssssssssssssss

Vergier, who was on a scene near the bridge, ordered his constables to arrest a criminal for bank robbery. They retrieved the money and he ordered them to send it down right away. He smirked at his and the constables success on capture.

Afterwards, everything seemed to be back on track.

He walked inside the department, everyone greeting him and congratulating him. He, closed his eyes, smiled and enjoyed it as he walked by, going towards his office.

He heard his door make a squeak noise and grinned, still walking with his eyes closed, _ahh, I guess some decided to wait by my office to congratulate me. Well, guess I'll have to act surprised. _

Vergier opened his eyes and stared at the man with a familiar hat in front of his office, with a hand on his door knob and the other hand holding his brief case. His mouth held a full croissant in the middle, holding it upside down.

They were both surprised at one another, the young boy, not knowing when the good inspector was coming back, and Vergier, surprised to see Raphael outside of his cell.

They stared at each other, not one of them making a move. Vergier, who was still smiling, looked down at the brief case, then back up at Raphael, "… that is mine…" he said.

"… Yep…" Raphael replied through the croissant.

"… You are taking it…"

"... Maybe…"

They stared at each other again for a while. Suddenly, Vergier began to charge after him. Raphael leaped up in the air and over the inspector. Vergier swiftly turned around, "Raphael! What is the meaning of this?!"

He stood up holding his hat on his head, "you can call me Phantom R," he smirked, turning around, "you know that right? Besides, I just wanted the diary,"

"… You know you could have just taken it without the brief case,"

"I know, but I didn't want it to get dirty,"

Vergier growled and charged at him again. Raphael jumped backward and tossed him the croissant, "sorry about eating the whole box full. Oh! And congratulations!" he said, running away from him. Vergier stopped, almost dropping it, "GUARDS!" he shouted.

Soon Raphael was being chased all over the place by the constables. He dodged, twirling and jumping as they boldly came by, "don't let him escape!" he heard Vergier say.

_Geez, thought that he'd let me go after being imprisoned here for a long time. _The exit was just a few steps away. The doors slid open and he saw Charlie, without her hat, walking in with a crumpet.

She gasped as Raphael stopped just a few inches in front of her. Just like her father, Charlie was surprised also, "R-Rapha-"

"Phantom," he interrupted her, "it's Phantom R, when I wear the hat."

Charlie's eyes sparkled, knowing that he was really back to his old self. The constables were quickly coming closer, and he knew he had to get out of there as soon as possible if he ever wants to save his father, stop Napoleon, and see Marie again, "so… you hungry?" he said to Charlie. She spoke back, "well I ate my lunch a few seconds ago… hey wait a minute," she said, seeing the brief case then glaring at him.

"Oh good! So then I guess you won't need this," Phantom R said, taking the crumpet from her hand, and then gracefully passed by her, "see you later Charlie, and thanks for everything."

He ran out the door and to the left, almost out of sight. Vergier and Charlie ran out the door and pointed at his direction, "GET HIM! ARREST THAT RHYTHM THIEF! HE STOLE MY BRIEF CASE!" yelled Vergier.

"HE JACKED MY CRUMPET AND STOLE MY HAT, that's in the brief case," said Charlie right after Vergier.

He looked at her, "Charlotte, what's your hat doing in my brief case?"

"Um… I didn't want it to get dirty on the way to school, but I forgot it," she said innocently.

Sssssssssssssssssssss

"Looks like the constables are after me again," Phantom R chuckled, _Napoleon, after I save my father, you better watch out. And Marie… please, wait for me._

_~THE END~_

**(I was going to write "IT'S SHOWTIME" at the end, but I decided not too. anyways, thanks everyone for reading and commenting. I plan to write more Rhythm Thief fanfics in the future. Also hoping that there will be a sequel to the game. Thanks again everyone! :' ) )**


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